Paradise Fell
by William War
Summary: A few years after the Project Purity incident, the Wasteland is an entirely different place. As war appears on the horizon, could the dedication of one man to his oath tip the scales in his favor?


PROLOUGE:

He stood up and looked around, sniffing at the air, the familiar aroma of gunpowder wafted through his nostrils. He counted the corpses of the Raiders around him to be eight in total. One finger from each, each finger worth twenty caps, and he just barely covered ammunition and supply costs from his journey. He sighed and took off his pack, setting it next to his rifle, and opened it. He walked over to each of the Raiders and dragged them over towards his pack, bringing what supplies they had with them. He pulled out his combat knife and sliced the right index finger of each corpse off and placed them into the airtight case he kept in his pocket.

Once that was done with, he went through the belongings of the Raiders, taking a few items from each, trying to balance lightweight with value. He zipped up his pack, threw it back on, and picked up his rifle, heading towards "home."

CHAPTER ONE: THE LONE WOLF

Jenny Fitzgerald stepped into Moriarty's Saloon, weary after several days of travel, seeking refreshment and a place to lay her head for the night. When she walked into Megaton earlier that morning she had a mission, but now it seemed that it was more complicated than she once thought. She needed a guide.

She was a thin young woman with flowing brown hair and sapphire blue eyes, innocent looking by wasteland standards, carrying a .32 caliber pistol for her only protection and some worn clothing that did little other than hide her skin from the sun.

All in all, she looked ill equipped for the challenges of the Capital Wasteland. Hesitantly, she sat down at the bar, keeping her head down, trying to remain unseen. Gob, the Ghoul bartender, knew the feeling but walked over to her anyways, fearing his boss's wrath if he didn't try to sell something.

"Hey smoothskin, you gonna order something to drink, eat, or are you just taking up space?" he asked, amused as she jumped some and looked up at him.

"O-oh… yes, sorry… Can I get a water?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Sure, that'll be ten caps." He replied reaching for a bottle of Aqua Pura.

"Never mind then…" She sighed, "I'm out of caps."

Before Gob could respond the front door opened and sunlight, wind, and dust filled the bar, only for a second as a man entered and closed the door behind him. Jenny turned her head to get a look at the man and gasped when she saw him approach the bar.

He had short matte black hair with gray ends and a rough beard to match. His eyes darted around the room, their steel like color seeming to take in everything. He was somewhere around six feet tall with broad shoulders. He wore a battle scarred Regulator Duster with a badge that said "Regulator Marshal" near where his heart would be. He had a medium sized backpack on that must have been full of his spoils of war. His Sniper Rifle was well taken care of and she saw a large revolver in a leather holster on his right hip.

He was everything she wasn't. He was prepared for whatever the wasteland wanted to throw at him, meanwhile she struggled just to make it from day to day.

He set his pack on a stool next to Jenny and opened it, revealing assorted valuables.

"Back again, Ulysses?" Gob groaned mockingly, "Good to see the wastes haven't killed you yet."

"Good to see you haven't gotten any uglier, Gob, otherwise Moriarty would kill ya for drivin' his clientele away." The man named Ulysses grinned, his teeth lightly tinted yellow.

"Smart ass. Whatcha got to trade now?"

"Some stuff I pulled out of ruins and some stuff I took off of some kills, so forgive me if there's some dried blood." He pulled several items out of his pack, handed them to Gob, and in turn received some stimpacks, water, and food. "While you're at it, get everyone a round of their choice, put it on my tab."

"You got it." Gob replied as the patrons cheered and ordered the best drinks in stock.

"Can I have a water?" Jenny asked Gob softly once the commotion died down. "Just a bottle of water?"

"Give her three Gob, she looks like she needs it." Ulysses smiled at her, knocking back a glass of Scotch.

Jenny looked up at him, and while he smiled, she felt unnerved around him. She knew there was always a motive with men, especially those who spent a lot of time in the wastes.

"Thank you…" She smiled nervously. "Thank you very much…"

"No problem. Gob, I'll see you later, I have to go and see Moira about some ammo."

"Yeah, yeah, try not to die out there, God forbid you make me happy." Gob called out as Ulysses left the saloon.

"Who was that?" Jenny asked Gob.

"Who him? That was a guy people call Ulysses, and I doubt it's his real name but he hasn't corrected anyone yet."

"How old is he?" She looked at the Ghoul as he put three bottles of water in front of her, "His hair is starting to gray."

"He's not out of his mid-twenties, I don't think, and he wasn't always like that. A few years ago he walked out of Vault 101, innocent, young, and scared. Apparently there was some kind of fighting and he ended up killing some people. He obviously couldn't stay down there so he had to come out into the world. He lost his mind early on; he didn't care about anyone or anything but himself. He was a real bastard back then. I don't know what changed him, but somewhere along the way, his conscience caught up with him. He never traveled with any companions, which is usually a sure way to wind up dead, but he seemed to thrive out there…"

"What did he do that was so bad?"

"He killed a lot of innocent people, he stole, he had some kind of deal with some bad people, there were even rumors he was a cannibal. Truth be told, people don't like talking about him much at all, good or bad, he's still a murderer."

Jenny nodded and took the bottles of water, placing them in her satchel. "I need to ask one more question… If I wanted to get somewhere in the wasteland safely, would I be able to hire a guide, and who should I talk to?"

"Well, the people here don't get out much and don't want to leave, but I suppose you could travel with a trade caravan if you don't mind being a target for raiders everywhere you go. Other than that I can only think of two people: a guy named Jericho who used to be a Raider, and Ulysses." Gob nodded, thinking about it for a second. "But I'd go with Ulysses if I were you, cuz Jericho ain't exactly respectful of women, if you get what I'm saying."

Jenny nodded and stood from her seat at the bar, hurrying out the door, trying to catch up with the man who she hoped would be able to help her.


End file.
